lmao....the funny part about this thread is that DVJ78 is actually making a solid point.

The funny thing is, I'm really not looking to argue. I just want someone to show me where Jay Z took his money, invested in a company and made a k!lling the way Diddy is doing with Ciroc and the way 50 did with Vitamin Water.

That's all I'm asking. If I'm wrong I will admit it but nobody can name me a company he invested in that was successful because there isn't one.

WTF happened to those S. Dots? Who the fu*k wears Rocawear? Who goes to Nets games? Has anybody here even seen or heard of the Fedal?

If your old enough to remember when Big was alive...and when Mase was running NY rap...you'll remember that right after Mase and Diddy did the Mo Money Mo Problems video..jay came out with the Sunshine video with the bright yellow suit and them horrible looking glasses.

OP makes a solid point and honestly....I can't think of any investments that Jay made that really really paid off. Anything that he has done has really been about getting negotiating deals with huge companies and/or joint ventures. All of his "investments" haven't really done so well. That being said, I think his Nets investment will pay off. When they officially move and possibly add some big names, they will make a profit. We need to wait a year or so for that though...

To say he's not a good businessman is false, though. What about the deals he had with HP, GM, Budweiser, Armand de Brignac, or Live Nation? I'm not even talking about any music deals he's doing. There's negotiating and risk-taking involved in all of that. It's more than "You're hot right now so let's use your name to sell our sh*t" Bottom line is he's kept himself crazy relevant since his "retirement". In doing so, he's opened up lanes for himself and capitalized on them. That alone is enough to call him a "good businessman". Plus, dude is making stupid amounts of money and probably is the richest guy in rap. You don't get that way by having friends who are good at business while you are simply a good rapper.

Live Nation is a $150 million deal over 10 years = $15 million a year.

Roc Nation was formed once the Live Nation deal was signed.

Try that sh*t on someone that don't know sh*t about business.

Once again..... Diddy > Jay Z (Business Wise)

yea really, why didn't you read the article then, he got an UP-FRONT payment of 25million, a general advance of 25million and an advance of 10million per album

lost yourself there didn't you...

"Roc Nation was formed once the Live Nation deal was signed"

So... what? he's racking money of every single artist on rocnation, and guess what he's got
11 people signed to the label and.... 30 people managed under rocnation
you think diddy mad that jay elec fu*ked him over and went to rocnation

stop acting like you know jay-z's everymove... he's worth more then diddy so regardless of 'ciroc'

OP makes a solid point and honestly....I can't think of any investments that Jay made that really really paid off. Anything that he has done has really been about getting negotiating deals with huge companies and/or joint ventures. All of his "investments" haven't really done so well. That being said, I think his Nets investment will pay off. When they officially move and possibly add some big names, they will make a profit. We need to wait a year or so for that though...

To say he's not a good businessman is false, though. What about the deals he had with HP, GM, Budweiser, Armand de Brignac, or Live Nation? I'm not even talking about any music deals he's doing. There's negotiating and risk-taking involved in all of that. It's more than "You're hot right now so let's use your name to sell our sh*t" Bottom line is he's kept himself crazy relevant since his "retirement". In doing so, he's opened up lanes for himself and capitalized on them. That alone is enough to call him a "good businessman". Plus, dude is making stupid amounts of money and probably is the richest guy in rap. You don't get that way by having friends who are good at business while you are simply a good rapper.

Thank you for saying I make a good point/.

To say he's not a good businessman is not false at all. That deal he had with HP..everybody had it from Serena Williams to Pharell to a bunch of other celebs. That wasn't no ground breaking sh*t.
The GM deal was a straight failure. It didn't make it a quarter of the fiscal year. It lasted 2 months. Budweiser was a sponsor for his Kingdom Come album and Armand de Brignac? Who the fu*k orders that?

yea really, why didn't you read the article then, he got an UP-FRONT payment of 25million, a general advance of 25million and an advance of 10million per album

lost yourself there didn't you...

"Roc Nation was formed once the Live Nation deal was signed"

So... what? he's racking money of every single artist on rocnation, and guess what he's got
11 people signed to the label and.... 30 people managed under rocnation
you think diddy mad that jay elec fu*ked him over and went to rocnation

stop acting like you know jay-z's everymove... he's worth more then diddy so regardless of 'ciroc'

jay>diddy (business wise)

All that Live Nation money has to be paid back. I have no idea what your talking about with all that advance talk

I don't care if he got the entire thing up front...he still has to pay it back. He didn't make that money, it was loaned to him. You know what loan means right?

All that Live Nation money has to be paid back. I have no idea what your talking about with all that advance talk

I don't care if he got the entire thing up front...he still has to pay it back. He didn't make that money, it was loaned to him. You know what loan means right?

Do you really think Jay is a better business man than Diddy?

Yea you're right, but that doesn't stop it from being an investment? A big one at that!
They'll get money back, and jay-z will get money back, again, a lot of money at that.

same with rocnation, livenation/jay-z have invested a lot of money and they'll get it back from artists music/touring/sales etc. again another investment

Do you really think Jay is a better business man than Diddy?

Depends, I cannot give a definitive answer... I think diddy is more canny with his money, but I still think jay-z has more and will gain more in the future then diddy
but that wasn't the original question, jay-z aint a bad business man he's made way too much money, yes he's made a few bad investments, but who doesn't, learn from your mistakes and all that

To say he's not a good businessman is not false at all. That deal he had with HP..everybody had it from Serena Williams to Pharell to a bunch of other celebs. That wasn't no ground breaking sh*t.
The GM deal was a straight failure. It didn't make it a quarter of the fiscal year. It lasted 2 months. Budweiser was a sponsor for his Kingdom Come album and Armand de Brignac? Who the fu*k orders that?

Give me some success stories please.

Also, I laugh at people that think Jay Z is Live Nations #1 act.

First off, a lot of people order Armand de Brignac. It was successful before Jay and got even more popular after he name dropped them a few times. Of course it doesn't take much business sense to put the name in a rap and become a spokesmen afterwards, but still...

Budweiser was a sponsor for Kingdom Come....there's still negotiating and risk mitigation involved in endorsements. As for HP...it might not have been groundbreaking, but it's still a business move. I don't see anywhere where's it's said to be a failure.

Like I said, you have a point but let me ask you a question. How did Jay get to where he is financially by being a below average businessman? Is it just because he's a good rapper? I know Dame did a lot of the business dealings, but give Jay some credit here. There's no way you get to a $4-500M net worth without being a good businessman. He's not a trust fund baby, didn't go to business school, and yet he makes more than anyone year after year.

Honestly, I don't know much about Jay's business endeavors but I'll say one thing that has probably already been said: you don't get to the financial level he's at by being a mediocre businessman. End of story.